Operating unit

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to an operating unit for one or more gate, window, door or roller shutter drives. In accordance with the invention, one basic element is provided for each driven gate, window, door or roller shutter. The basic elements each accommodate the operating elements required for operating a gate, window, door or roller shutter drive, and can be joined together.

This invention relates to an operating unit for one or more gate,window, door or roller shutter drives.

Operating units for a garage door drive are known. The same are sold asaccessory for garage door drives and mounted on the wall in the interiorof the garage. The known operating units accommodate the operatingelements required for operating a garage door. The individual operatingelements can for instance be designed as push buttons. There is normallyprovided one operating element for starting and stopping the drivemotor, for instance in the form of a start-stop push button. Additionaloperating elements or push buttons can be provided for the lighting andfor electronically blocking the garage door drive.

The known operating units have the disadvantage that in the case ofdouble or multiple gates, windows, doors or roller shutters a pluralityof operating units provided for a door drive must be mounted one besidethe other. Fitting double or multiple gates, windows, doors or rollershutters with the known operating units therefore involves a complexassembly and leads to solutions of poor aesthetic appearance.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to propose anoperating unit which can also be realized for double or multiple gates,windows, doors or roller shutters with little assembly effort and in anoptically elegant way.

In accordance with the invention, this object is solved in that theoperating unit comprises one or more basic elements. In each basicelement, the operating elements required for operating a gate areaccommodated, i.e. for instance the push buttons “start/stop”,“lighting” and “electronic blocking”. For each of the gates, windows,doors or roller shutters to be operated, one basic element is provided,so that for instance the operating unit for a double gate comprises twobasic elements. In accordance with the invention, the basic elements canbe joined together, so that in the assembled condition the operator getsthe optical appearance of a single operating unit for the entire gate,window, door or roller shutter system.

In accordance with a preferred aspect, all basic elements have the samedesign. This facilitates the assembly and decreases the productioncosts. In accordance with another preferred aspect, joining together iseffected in that the basic elements are plugged together. For instance,the plug-in connection is made between the vertical side walls of thebasic elements, so that in the assembled condition the basic elementsare arranged horizontally one beside the other. Preferably, the plug-inconnection can be realized in that the basic elements have a recess atone side and an extension at the opposite side. For joining the basicelements together, the extension of one basic element then is pluggedinto the recess of the adjacent basic element. It is particularlyadvantageous when in the plugged condition the extension is positivelyenclosed by the recess. As a result, the extension is comparativelyfirmly seated in the recess and a comparatively stable and loadableplug-in connection is obtained.

In accordance with another preferred aspect, an end cap is provided asfurther part of the operating unit. The end cap can be plugged into theterminal basic element, so that the unsightly recess of the terminalbasic element is concealed. An even more elegant optical appearance is.achieved by shaping the end cap such that for the viewer it creates thesymmetry with the exposed extension located at the other end of theoperating unit. To this end, the shape of that part of the end cap,which in its plugged condition is not concealed to the viewer by thebasic element, must substantially correspond to the extension located onthe opposite side. Thus, the end cap ensures that in the assembledcondition the operating unit generally has a symmetric appearance forthe viewer and operator.

In accordance with another preferred aspect, one or more fastening meansare molded to the end cap. Furthermore, receptacles for the fasteningmeans are provided at the bottom of the recess. For attaching the endcap to the terminal basic element, the fastening means are connectedwith the receptacles. Advantageously, the fastening means are designedas T-sections which are plugged into receptacles designed as slots.

In accordance with another preferred aspect, the operating unit of theinvention comprises a flush housing. In the flush housing, theelectronic inner workings of the operating unit can be accommodated. Theoperating unit with flush socket allows a flat design of basic elementand end cap, which can be mounted flush at the wall. As a result, theoperating unit stands out only little from the wall surface, which leadsto an optically pleasant total appearance. Advantageously, brackets areprovided at the flush socket, to which the basic element and/or end capcan be attached, in order to provide the operating unit with morestrength and stability.

One embodiment of the invention will subsequently be explained in detailwith reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1. shows a front view of a basic element 2 and an end cap 6;

FIG. 2 shows a rear view of a basic element 2 and an end cap 6;

FIG. 3 shows various views of a basic element 2 with inserted end cap 6;

FIG. 4 shows a front view of two basic elements 2 plugged together andof an end cap 6;

FIG. 5. shows a rear view of two basic elements 2 plugged together andof an end cap 6;

FIG. 6 shows various views of two basic elements 2 plugged together withinserted end cap 6;

FIG. 7 shows front and rear views of a flush socket 7 for two basicelements 2 with a mounted basic element 2; and

FIG. 8 shows front and rear views of an assembled operating unit withtwo basic elements 2 and a flush socket 7.

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a basic element 2 and an end cap 6. On thefront side of the basic element 2 the operating elements 3 for thegate/door/window/roller shutter operated with this basic element arearranged. In the illustrated embodiment, the operating elements 3 aredesigned as push buttons. There is each provided one push button for“start/stop”, “lighting”, and “electronic blocking”. On the left side ofthe basic element the extension 5 is provided, which can be plugged intothe recess 4 of an adjacent basic element. Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows theend cap 6, which can be plugged into the recess 4 of a terminal basicelement 2. The end cap 6 is designed such that in the plugged conditionit provides an appearance corresponding to the projection 5, so that theoperating unit as a whole has optically symmetrical ends.

FIG. 2 shows a basic element 2 and an end cap 6 from the rear. On theleft side of the basic element 2 a recess 4 is provided, and on theright side the extension 5. At the end cap 6, the T-sections 9 areprovided, which are inserted into the slots 10 for mounting the end cap6 at the basic element 2.

FIG. 3 shows various views of a basic element 2 with inserted end cap 6.The front view in the middle illustrates that the inserted end cap 6provides an appearance corresponding to the integrally molded extension5, so that the basic element 2 with inserted end cap 6. generallyappears to be symmetrical to the viewer.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show front and rear views of two basic elements 2 pluggedtogether and an end cap 6. On the front side of the two basic elements,the operating elements 3 for one garage door each are provided. FIG. 5shows how the extension 5 of the left basic element 2 is plugged intothe recess 4 of the right basic element 2. The extension 5 is positivelyenclosed by the edge of the recess 4.

FIG. 6. shows two joined basic elements 2 with an inserted end cap 6.The front view in turn shows that the mounted operating unit issymmetrical to the vertical central plane. The rear view illustrates howend cap 6 and basic element 2 are plugged into each other.

FIG. 7 shows an operating unit with flush socket 7. At the front side ofthe flush socket 7 brackets 8 are mounted, to which the basic elements 2can be attached.

FIG. 8 shows that the flush socket 7 is completely covered by the joinedbasic element and end cap, so that an appearance of high optical qualityis achieved. The flush socket is embedded in the wall at which theoperating unit is mounted. Thus, only the joined compound of basicelement and end cap (2, 6) stands out from the surface of the wall. Thisleads to a further improvement of the aesthetic appearance of theoperating unit.

1. An operating unit for a drive of one or more of a gate, window, door,or roller shutter, comprising: one basic element for each driven gate,window, door, or roller shutter, each basic element accommodatingoperating elements required for operating a gate, window, door, orroller shutter drive, and each basic element being configured to bejoined together with another basic element.
 2. The operating unit asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the basic elements have the same structure.3. The operating unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the basic elementscan be put together.
 4. The operating unit as claimed in claim 3 whereinthe basic elements are provided with a recess on one side and with anextension on a reverse side, the extension being insertable into therecess of an adjacent basic element.
 5. The operating unit as claimed inclaim 4 wherein an outside of the inserted extension is positivelyenclosed by an inside of the recess.
 6. The operating unit as claimed inclaim 4 further comprising, an end cap which can be plugged into therecess of the basic element.
 7. The operating unit as claimed in claim 6wherein the end cap is shaped such that in its form visible for the userof the mounted operating unit, that part of the end cap which is notconcealed by the basic element in the plugged condition substantiallycorresponds to the extension located on the opposite side.
 8. Theoperating unit as claimed in claim 7 wherein at a side facing the basicelement, the end cap has one or more fastening means for mounting theend cap at a terminal basic element which can be connected withreceptacles provided in the basic element.
 9. The operating unit asclaimed in claim 8 wherein the fastening means are designed asT-sections and the receptacles are designed as slots, and the T-sectionscan be inserted into the slots for mounting the end cap in the basicelement.
 10. The operating unit as claimed in claim 9 wherein a flushsocket is provided, the socket covered by the basic element and end capjoined together when the operating unit is mounted.
 11. The operatingunit as claimed in claim 10 wherein at the flush socket one or morebrackets are provided for mounting the basic element or the end cap. 12.An operating unit, comprising: a first basic element configured tocontrol a first drive unit of one or more of a first gate, window, door,or roller shutter drives, the first basic element including a firstoperating element configured to operate the first drive unit; and asecond basic element configured to control a second drive unit of one ormore of a second gate, window, door, or roller shutter drives, thesecond basic element including a second operating element configured tooperate the first drive unit; wherein the first and second basicelements are configured to be joined together.
 13. The operating unit ofclaim 12 wherein the first and second basic elements have a commonstructure, and wherein the first and second basic elements areconfigured to be joined together side-by-side.
 14. The operating unit ofclaim 13 wherein each basic element is provided with a recess on oneside and with an extension on a reverse side, the extension of the firstbasic element being insertable into the recess of the second basicelement.
 15. The operating unit of claim 14, further comprising an endcap which can be plugged into the recess of the recess of the firstbasic element.
 16. An operating unit for a drive of one or more of agate, window, door, or roller shutter, comprising one modular basicelement for each driven gate, window, door, or roller shutter, the basicelement accommodating an operating element required for operating agate, window, door or roller shutter drive, the basic element configuredto be joined to another modular basic element, the one basic element andthe other basic element having a common structural appearance.